The Secret of the Fire Stone
by Tintinfan101
Summary: When a mysterious chain of thefts of museum artifacts take place by "The Black Dog" Tintin is on the case! With old allies at their side, Tintin and the gang are adventuring around the globe. But, with the clock ticking faster and faster, will this reporter be able to recover the stolen artifacts in time? Rated T just in case. Contains OC.
1. Chapter 1: Notes and Vistors

_**A/N: Hello Dear Reader! Welcome to my first published fan fiction to ! I love this site and I hope to publish more in the future .**_

_**DISCLAIMER: First of all Tintin and company doesn't belong to me (sadly), it belongs to Mousinart. All O/Cs in this fanficton are mine and belong to me **_

_**Alright, getting that out of the way,*sigh of relief* I want to warn you ahead of time: This fanficton contains O/Cs. If you don't like, please don't read. I didn't want to forget to tell you guys that. **_

_**I'm still trying to figure out how to work the bits and ends of , so if you have any tips please leave them in the comments. Also don't forget to subscribe! **_

_**Now without further interruptions, I present to you the first chapter. :)**_

_Notes and Visitors _

TinTin breathed in the afternoon air, as Snowy rushed past his feet.

"Woah!" Snowy barked as he took off after a rabbit at the edge of the woods. He started to call out for him, but smiling he thought better; Snowy would come back when he smelled food. Turning, Tintin saw his seafaring companion, Captain Haddock, as he bumbled out the door.

"Blistering Barnacles!" he cursed as he tripped over Nestor's Siamese cat, who scurried off quickly, hissing angrily as he did so. Thankfully, Captain Haddock saved the cumbersome watermelon he held in his hands.

"Are you ready?" TinTin asked the Captain, who grumbled a few words under his breath.

"Wait for me!" A small voice cried from inside.

A few seconds later, Skut, the one eyed Estonian pilot, appeared carrying a blanket. Their trusted ally and companion had been at Marlinspike Hall for a week on his summer break. Skut planned to be there another week before leaving to start work again.

TinTin chuckled as the two of them trotted down the steps to join him. TinTin's wooden picnic basket creaked as he, plus Skut and the Captain, started down the worn dirt path to the open field near the mansion. They stopped at the top of the hill, breaking out their supplies. Skut set out the worn blanket as Captain Haddock started to lay down the watermelon, cutting it into large pieces. TinTin pulled a battery operated radio out of the basket along with forks, knifes, plates and napkins. The sun played on their faces as they started to set pieces of watermelon on their plates.

Sighing, Captain commented as he spit out a seed. "I wish everyday was like this. No worries and not a care in the world."

TinTin laid back on his back, staring at the clouds and listened to the radio play instrumental music. "I do too Captain. It is nice."

His friends followed his example and laid on their backs as well, sighing in content. A few moments later, Snowy came back from the woods, barking and panting happily at TinTin. With a snort he rested by TinTin on his side, taking a deep breath. TinTin rubbed Snowy's ears as the white, fluffy clouds rolled past them drifting lazily across the blue sky.

"Can you pass some lemonade, TinTin?"Skut asked politely.

"Of course," TinTin replied as he reached into the basket and felt the bottom. He gasped and sat up, the lemonade was gone!

"What is it, lad?" Captain Haddock asked as he sat up as well.

"It's nothing," TinTin assured him. "But I could have sworn I packed it… I'll go ask Nestor if he has a extra jug."

Quickly, TinTin got up and trotted down the small hill, the music from the radio fading in the distance. He climbed up the Marlinspike steps two at a time and went inside.

"Nestor! Can you come here for a moment?" TinTin called out in the foyer as he shut the door behind him.

"Be there in a minute, sir!" The loyal butler replied from a room upstairs. Sighing in relief that the matter could be solved, TinTin started over to the kitchen. The padding of footsteps coming down the staircase distracted TinTin for a split second and he stood in shock at the sight.

Nestor was wearing a pink apron. It was the disturbing shade of cough syrup, and it was laced white at the ends along with a fat red heart sewed in the middle of his chest.

"Nestor… what on earth are you wearing?" TinTin asked raising an eyebrow.

Nestor looked down on it and laughed softly, "Oh! This was a Christmas gift from one of my relatives. Whether he meant it to be a joke or not, I have no clue. So for spite, I try to destroy it whenever I can."

TinTin now realized the paint stains and scorch marks peppered across it. Across Nestors forehead was a smear of white paint, indicating what he'd been doing recently. TinTin couldn't help but crack a smile and laugh. Nestor chuckled lightly in amusement, a small smile spread across the usually monotone face. After the pair was done laughing Nestor commented, "By the way, sir… did you need something?"

"Yes! I was wondering if you had another jug of lemonade, ours seems to be missing."

"Of course, I'll bring it out shortly." Nestor replied as he scurried off, his pink apron flowing gracefully as well. TinTin turned to the small pile of new mail on one of the small tables by the entrance. Sorting through them, he threw the useless ones (most from Jollian Wagg) into the small wastebasket, or as the Captain loved to call it "The Burn Pile" (surprisingly, his letters made great fire starters). In the end only one letter remained, it was an envelope addressed to the Captain.

TinTin skipped out the door to join his friends out in the field. Skut and Captain Haddock looked up as they smiled at him.

"Well lad, any luck?" Captain Haddock asked heartily.

"Yes! Nestor will bring it out in a few minutes." TinTin stated as he sat back down on the picnic blanket. "Also, this is for you." He added as he held out the letter to the Captain.

Captain Haddock took it and ripped open the seal. His eyes fiddled across the page and widened as he came to the bottom of the page. "Blue blistering barnacles!"

"What is it?" Skut asked as he tilted his head.

"It's from Bianca Castafiore! Saying that she'll be visiting next week! The Old Bird!" He sighed in frustration as he let down the letter in the grass.

Nestor came up from the manor (not wearing the apron anymore) carrying on a silver tray, their lemonade. They all grabbed a glass and drank a few sips to cool themselves off.

"There's a telegram for you, sir." Nestor said as he handed Captain Haddock an envelope.

"Thank you Nestor." Captain Haddock responded as the butler set down the whole tray full of extra lemonade.

TinTin gladly drank the sweet treat but stopped when he saw a slip of paper wedged in between two of the extra glasses. Curious, he snatched it and observed it. There were no markings, only one word scrawled in big, uppercase letters.

HELLO.

"Did you put this here Nestor?" TinTin asked holding it out for him to see.

Nestor shook his head. "No sir, I've never seen it before in my life." As he walked away to get back to his tasks, Skut turned up the volume for the radio as a news flash came on the program.

"_News Flash! At 8 o'clock this morning another robbery took place at the Museum of Natural Science by the Black Dog." _

Captain Haddock along with everyone else choked on their lemonade and leaned in closer.

"_This robbery is similar to the Art Museum of Brussels that happened three weeks ago, supposedly told by police by the same thief. The thief is wanted dead or alive by the police and a reward will be given to the person who captures this dangerous criminal. It is also advised that until this dangerous criminal is captured, everyone should stay inside once it gets dark. In other news…"_

Skut turned down the volume and stared paper white at his companions, "Well… that was lovely."

TinTin sighed and sat back, "I just don't get it."

"Don't get what?"

"How can such a big criminal, not leave a trace, and never be seen? It dosn't make sense." TinTin pondered.

His train of concentration was broken when Captain Haddock bellowed, "BLISTERINIG BARNICLES!"

"What is it Captain?" TinTin asked, concerned for his friend. He looked over to see his friends hand shaking in anger, the new telegram crumbled in the palm of his hand.

"It's a telegram from Castafiore! It says that she's coming on the 17th, the 17th! T-That's today!"The Captain stood quickly, spilled his drink, and scurried off. Skut and TinTin along with Snowy peered at each other momentarily before following after him.

"Captain? Where are you going?" Skut asked as they went into the hall.

"France, China, the Moon! I don't care, as long as I get away from that menace." Captain Haddock replied back as he took the stairs two at a time.

He called for Nestor to pack his bags and Nestor hurried to get to work. TinTin rubbed his forehead in wonder.

"Well Snowy, it looks like it's going to get crazy here at Marlinspike."

Snowy barked in agreement.

A few minutes later Captain Haddock was trotting down the stairs with a small suitcase in hand. He reached out to turn the doorknob when a loud knock came from the other side.

Captain Haddock groaned to himself and closed his eyes, "Shoot." He looked at his suitcase and glanced around the room, trying to see where to hide it. He threw it across to TinTin, who caught it with a grunt.

Captain Haddock rolled his eyes as he opened the door, forcing a smile.

"Hello Ms. Castafiore." The Captain greeted flakily.

Instead of greeting him back she strutted in, her fancy clothes and heavy perfumes making TinTin's nose itch.

"My dear Mr. Padstock. How nice to see you again!" she chimed merrily, giving Captain Haddock a bone crutching hug before shedding her gloves.

She turned to TinTin a wide smile on her face, " Ah! TinTin, darling, how nice to see you again!"

He smiled politely back. "Nice to see you again too, Castafiore."

She turned gracefully to face Skut, "And this must be the one eyed pilot TinTin always talks about, Poot isn't it?"

Skut shrugged as he shook her hand, "Close enough."

"Well then, where is that Professor Celery? Is he well?"

"Calculus? He's out in the back working on yet another project." Captain commented dryly.

"Splendid! I'm sure I shall see him at dinner tonight. O! Irma! My bags please!" Castafiore called to the maid, who huffed her way inside.

"Yes Madame, coming Madame." Irma replied muffled from the pile of bags she held in her arms. Nestor hurried over and helped her carry them in the door.

"Where's your piano player Wager?" Captain Haddock asked as he shut the foyer door.

"I let him take a vacation. Poor man… he works too hard. It takes a lot of talent to be in the show business."

"I'm sure it does." Tintin replied nodding his head, Snowy snorted in disbelief.

Castafiore sighed dreamily, "It's a delight to see Marlinspike once more!"

"Yeah…" Captain Haddock muttered under his breath as his eyes grew stormy. "A real treat."

_**Did you enjoy the first chapter? What did you think? **__**Please **__**leave comments for me to read. I would love to see them! Also, I'm sorry if I misspelled a few things, I'm a little bad with grammar. **_


	2. Chapter 2 :Meeting Old Friends

_**A/N: Firstly I have to thank you for viewing my fan fiction! I promise more stories to come (actually I might upload another one today, I don't know.) Hold on, I have to get something out of the way first.**_

_***clears throat* DISCLAIMER: I don't own Tintin and company, they don't belong to me they belong to Herge and Mouslinsart (Probably spelled that wrong). I only own my writing and my OCs!**_

_**Whew! Getting that out of the way, I wanted to apologize for not doing this chapter sooner, and I do admit it isn't the best chapter I've written, but I wanted to get a new one up and running as soon as I could. **_

_**But enough about me, I finally give you what you've been waiting for.**_

_Chapter 2: Meeting Old Friends_

With a delicious dinner, Tintin tried desperately to forget the note, but no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't.

Calculus strolled in just as Nestor set down the final touches. "I'm so sorry I'm late Captain I was just-." He stopped short when he saw Castafiore sitting at the table.

"Madame." He stated taking off his cap, ears slightly red.

"Professor! It's such a lovely surprise to see you. Your friends said that you were around."

"No not at all, Miss. I was just in my laboratory around dear old Marlinspike." Calculus said, his friends noticing the absence of his hearing aid.

"Umm…. Professor." Tintin tapped his ear and Calculus blinked.

"Sorry, I guess I forgot again." Calculus apologized, discreetly putting it in as the people around him started to eat.

Snowy snuck around their feet, sniffing for scraps that possibly fallen to the floor. As Tintin ate his spaghetti and meatballs, the note burned in his mind.

_What did that note mean? Was it just a joke played from a child, or was it something else? Was it a coincidence when we heard the broadcast about the Black Dog? Why did it go to me?_

"Blistering barnacles, lad! Are you alright?"

Tintin looked up from his bowl to the Captain's worried face. "Yeah Captain, I'm fine. Just tired, that's all."

Captain Haddock scoffed, "Thundering typhoons, you do look a bit pale. Maybe you should retire for the night."

"Yes… maybe I should. See you in the morning, Captain."

"Goodnight landlubber."

Bidding goodnight to everyone else, Tintin started up to his room, Snowy trotting alongside him. He changed into his favorite periwinkle colored nightclothes and crawled under the sheets. As he let out a sigh, Snowy snuggled down next to him. Soon enough, he felt his eyelids starting to droop.

_Tintin was running, his bated breath coming out of his mouth as frost. He ran through a wheat field in what seemed like night. The violet and dark black bleed into each other, turning the sky black as pitch. The plants created a rustling noise as he pushed past them, alerting anything around of his presence. In his right hand, he held a pistol, and he reloaded as he ran. Tintin had no idea why he was running or what from; but he felt panic and fear as he picked up his pace, breathing even harder . _

_A low growl sounded behind him as he was joined by another rustling of the plant and it was closing in fast_.

"_Snowy! Snowy, where are you?" He cried out in the darkness, but no white terrier came to his aid. He was all alone. No one would find him._

_Feeling like his chest would burst; he risked a glance behind him just as a dark, red eyed, smoky form pounced, its jaws wide open._

"Ah!" Tintin yelped as he fell off the bed with a thud. His alarm clock screamed in his ear as he looked around him franticly. He was sitting on the ground in his bedroom, the bed's sheets twisted around his legs, and his pillow was thrown halfway across the room. With his heart still hammering in his chest, he shut off the clock, sweat beads lining his upper lip.

"What a dream." He murmured as Snowy looked up at him from his position on the bed. Snowy yapped as Tintin rubbed his forehead.

Standing up on his feet he started to make his bed, straightening out his blankets and rearranging his pillows. After he was finished, he walked over to his dresser and pulled out his favorite blue sweater and brown trousers.

He shuffled around his sock drawer for a pair, his fingers touched something cold. Sitting inside was his automatic. Picking it up, he observed the clean black surface. It wasn't loaded of course, he kept the bullets in the closet.

Strangely, Tintin felt a twinge in his gut. Are my instincts telling me I need it? Why now?

Shaking his head, he set it down on the bed and grabbed his socks. Finished with his look, he tucked the pistol inside his shirt and Snowy gave him a raised look as he searched inside his closet for a bullet.

"Just in case, boy. You never know these days." Tintin whispered as he placed the silver object in his pants pocket.

Snowy snorted, but followed Tintin out of his room. As the pair reached the bottom of the stairs, he heard the shrill voice of Castafiore. "Do you have my purse Irma? Packed and ready to go?"

"Yes Madame."

"Excellent, Irma, that's a girl!"

Tintin saw Captain Haddock as grumbled to himself, he walking out of the living room. His eyes were stormy and full of thought.

"Good Morning Captain!" Tintin called at him as he reached the bottom of the stairs.

"Tintin! By golly! You're a sight for sore eyes." Captain Haddock greeted as he walked toward the lad.

"What's going on in there?"

"Castafiore is going on of how she's visiting the town."

"That's nice, I hope she has fun." Tintin replied with a small smile.

"Thundering typhoons lad! Are you alright? You seem kind of flushed." Captain Haddock asked with concern.

Tintin rubbed his weary eyes, "I didn't sleep very well last night… I kept thinking of-."

"The Black Dog?"

"How on Earth did you know?"

"Tintin, I'm your best friend. I can see when your reporter instincts kick in gear."

Tintin laughed, "The robberies that have been happening; I have a funny feeling about them." Tintin peered up at his companion with a mischievous glint in his eyes. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking Captain?"

Captain Haddock pulled his cap out of his black jacket, "What are we doing, flapping our gums here for? Let's get going to that museum!"

XXXXXXXXXX

A few hours later, the pair of friends plus Snowy, jumped out of the Captain's black car. Walking up the steps of the Museum of Natural Science, their hearts fluttered in their chest. Police and reporters alike, flowed in and out of the giant building, talking worried amongst themselves and a few people were being ushered out. Pushing past a few onlookers on the street, they walked inside and took in the sights.

A giant dinosaur skeleton stood in the middle of the foyer. Marble floors shone brightly against the sun streaming through the stain glassed windows. It was quite obvious where the crime scene was, yellow police tape roped off a section that read in big, bold letters above the archway: _Stones and Fossils Exhibit. _

"Come on Captain, let's have a look around." Tintin whispered as they approached the yellow tape. People with cameras stood in front of it, a few standing on their toes, trying to catch a glimpse past the guards.

Showing them proper I.D. Tintin, the Captain, and Snowy walked inside. Shadowboxes with stones, and ancient bones lined the walls. A few smaller skeletons of dinosaurs sat scattered across the room. The once busy museum was now eerily quiet except for the padding of feet against the tile floor and the discussions between a few officers as they past.

Suddenly Tintin heard a soft voice, "Psst!"

"Did you hear that, Captain?" Tintin asked as he stopped abruptly.

"Blistering barnacles! Hear what?"

"Psst!" they both heard clearly this time. Turning their heads left and right, they spotted a dark figure of a man that stood behind a stone column. He motioned for them to come over and with caution they did. Snowy sniffed the man's shoes and made a noise deep within his throat. Tintin hushed him.

"Thank God you came." The figure stated, breathing a sigh of relief. Shadows still obstructed their view of the man's facial features.

"Who are you?" Tintin asked with a raised eyebrow, feeling the tip of his pistol tucked in his coat pocket.

"Tintin? Don't you remember me?" Finally he leaned into the light and took off his hat, "It's me, Barnaby."

_***Laughs evilly* Sorry for leaving you in suspense (I'm so mean) I wanted to send a special thank you to**_ _**Chocoegg333**__** for being my first reviewer.3 **__**Please **__**leave tips and reviews in the review box! Love you guys! Cheerio for now! 3**_


	3. Chapter 3: Crime Scene

_**A/N: Hello there! Here it is, Chapter 3. I know you wanted to read it, so I tried to get it finished as soon as I could. **_

_**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Tintin and Company they belong to Herge and Molinsart. **_

_**Anywho, I thank you for your reviews and following my fanfiction. They're helpful as always! I'll get another chapter loaded soon, I promise :) .**_

_**ENJOY!**_

_Chapter 3_

The group was shocked into silence before the Captain exclaimed, "Blistering barnacles! Barnaby! What are you doing here?"

Barnaby gave a shadow of a smile, "Two police officers wanted to keep a very close eye on me. I think you know them quite well."

"Thompson and Thomson? They're here at an actual crime scene? Ha! Those nitwits!" Captain Haddock chuckled to himself.

Tintin peered at Barnaby closely for the first time. He was leaner, wore a suit and tie and he leaned on a thin white cane. "Where have you been, Barnaby? Last I heard you where in the hospital."

Barnaby's smile faded and he frowned, "Well… I decided that working here would be a good opportunity for me and… the Thom(p)son's decided that I might be useful in figuring out this case because I used to work for..." He cut off short, flushing a deep red.

"Oh, yeah, you did work for the Bird Brother's for a while."

"I'm still ashamed of it to this day." His frown deepened before he perked up. " Enough about me, Tintin. I'm sure you want to see the Thom(p)sons."

"Yes of course! Where are they?"

"They're over interviewing Doctor Sullivan. He runs this part of the museum." He stated as he walked along side them, leaning on his cane for support. Captain Haddock couldn't help but stare of how he walked, the way he held his leg and foot out and how he barely moved his left arm. He looked away just as Barnaby caught his eye.

As they walked past exhibits in silence, Barnaby stated, "I noticed you looking at my leg earlier, Captain."

The Captain blushed, "Well you see… I… um…."

Barnaby laughed, "Don't worry about it. Getting shot in the chest three times does come with a price."

Before the Captain could open his mouth again a familiar voice broke through, "Extraordinary!"

"To be precise, extraordinary indeed Thompson!"

Rounding the corner, the group found the twins rubbing their mustaches and squinting. An older man sat in a chair between them, looking worried with a blanket on his shoulders.

"Hello there Thompson and Thomson!"

"Why hello there Tintin!" they replied at the same time, raising their canes in greeting. Tintin giggled at their parroting.

"What are you jellyfishes up to?" Captain Haddock asked, raising an eyebrow.

"We were in the process of interviewing Doctor Sullivan." Retorted Thompson (or was it Thomson?)

"To be precise, in the process of interviewing Doctor Sullivan we are in. A stone was stolen from one of the shadowboxes last night; however he seems to have lost some of his memory that might have helped us." Replied the other twin as he leaned a little closer to whisper, "He seems a little... he seems to have lost his marbles. Keeps rambling on about the strangest things..."

At the sound of his name the white haired man lifted his head to peer at the newcomers. Tintin crouched by Doctor Sullivan and patted his arm, "Hello Doctor. How are you?"

Doctor Sullivan shook his head, "Not very good I'm afraid. I'm still shaken up a bit."

"Do you mind showing me where the crime happened?"

The Doctor stood and shuffled around the corner, Tintin, Captain Haddock, Snowy and Barnaby following. He pointed to a broken glass container sitting in the middle of a small table, "It used to sit there. It was called the Stone of Fire and was found in India many years ago."

Tintin rubbed his chin, looking close at the broken case. Lighting-like cracks ran across the covering, with a big hole was in the middle. All that was left that indicated an object was there was the mangled wiring that used to hold the stone in place.

"Have the police cleaned it up since it happened?"

"Unfortunately for you, yes."

"Was it worth a lot of money?" Captain Haddock asked as he picked Snowy off the ground and stepped over the thin, glass shards.

"I had it investigated by a dealer but, he said it wasn't worth much; although it was quite beautiful. " He sunk down on a wooden bench, sighing deeply. "I have no idea why someone would steal it."

"Don't worry, Doctor. We'll get that artifact back, but tell me. What all do you remember that happened last night?"

The Doctor inhaled a big breath before speaking, "It's kind of fuzzy… Well, I work late here you see and... I was just finishing up a new shadowbox for the butterfly exhibit when I swear I heard someone walking outside my door. I was nervous, but figured it was one of the many guards that worked at night. So went out to the hallway to see who was there and see if they needed me; I didn't see anyone. When I started to go back to my office, my door shut all by itself and I got locked out. Seeing I couldn't get back inside, I started down the hallway and felt glass crunching under my feet. I found the shadowbox was broken and the stone was gone. As I started to call out for a guard to sound the alarm, everything sort of went blank and I woke up in the supply closet this morning."

"That's all you remember?"

Doctor Sullivan nodded his head.

Tintin sighed, he was at a dead end. "Thank you for your time, sir. But I think we better get going."

"WAIT! I remember something… I think."

"Blistering barnacles what is it?"

"Before I lost my thought, I remember looking at the shadowbox."

"Yeah, but you've already said that." Captain Haddock grumbled.

"No, no, no. I remember looking at what was _around _the shadowbox." He held up his hand. "Muddy paw prints as big as my hand, and-and when I tried to call out I-."

"Yes? What happened?"

His face grew paper white, "I saw two, big, red eyes staring at me before it pounced."

"Don't you mean when the burglar pounced?"

"No…" the old man breathed as he said in almost a whisper. "_It.. _The _thing_ pounced… that was no man… it was a big black dog."

_***Dramatic music plays* What did you think? Did I leave you in suspense? Sorry it wasn't as long as the others... I promise to make them a little longer next time. PLEASE Review and Follow my fanfiction, also... make sure to tell your friends about it! Tell me if I made any mistakes, I shall fix them. Love you all!**_

_**Cheerio! **_


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